Bottle-washing machine



June 2,` 1925'.

F. C. WOLF .BOTTLE WASHING lMMJIIINE Filed Feb. 3. 1922 .hws

f 1 E, 1 n i. atenten uinne a,

UNITED? STATES-if FRANK c; WOLF; orros ANGELES', CALIFORNIA'.

BOTTLE-WASHING ivrecnznm:

Application med February' 3, 1922; serial INia:Staats.

Z 1o all iti/om it may concern:

Be' itln-own 'thatL FRANK C. Nomnal citizen ofthe United States,residing 4at Los? Angeles' in the county` of Los Angeles `andv State ofCalifornia, have invent-ed vnew yand usefnl n'iprovements' inBottle-"Washing lvfachines5v of :which the following is aspecilicati'on.

My invention relates tobottle washing: machines, and a purpose of myinvention is the provision' of a machine of this char-v cter ofextremely, simple durable and'feflicicnt construction f and whichY foperates to effect lthe rapid and thorough as well as simultaneouscleaning of a `plurality of milk` or similar bottles.

It is also a purpose of my invention 'to provide means for detachablyassociating the cleaning brushes with the driving mechanism comprisedinthe washing machine and' means for effectively and automaticallylubric-ating. the drivingimechanism.

l will describe one form of bottle'washingmachine embodying my inventionand will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanyingdrawings,

Figure'l 'isaview showing-in front elevation one form of bottle washingmachine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 isv a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figi Fig.3 an enlarged fragmentary detail viewipartly in section showing/one formof cimeli comprised in the machine shown in the preceding views.

Figs. l and yare transverse and longitudinal sectional views7respectively, of theeX- tcnsioie connection between thel motor shaft andthe driven shaft of the actuating mechanism.

`Referring specifically to the drawings inr which similar referencecharacters referto similar parts, my invention in its present embodimentcomprises two casting'sor supL ports designated generally aty K' and 'K,with the castingl Aincluding a basepori tion 15-upstandingfron'rwhich'is a'plate'16 formed at its upper en'd with.' a forwardlyextending fiange 17, and between its ends with .sleeve bearings 1S'v and18a. The casting K includes a base portion 19 'and' upf standing plate2O having a rearwardly eX- tendingfange 21 adapted to Contact with theflange 17 to form a closure for the upper side of the housing formed bythe two castings'.- Y Between the upper and lowery ends and at the-rearside ofthe plate -20k are sleeve bearings 22 and 22u similar inconstruction to the bearings 18 andlu and c`o` operating with the'latterto support shafts 23 a'nd-y 23av respectively to whichV gears arefixed.

Thesha'ft 23 has-'fixed thereto-a vdriving-l` gear Gr and thisgearconstantly meshes with a` similar 'but larger driveifgear G fixedVto that'snaft23a directly below the shaft- 23, as clearlyfshown in Figi1.l Asshown' in Fig. 1, three shafts 2Sa are provided; with' gears-G-2,and VGrs fixed to the other shafts 23a and meshingY with the gear G. Thedrivingfgear G is adapted to be drivenv by an suitable` *means* suchY asthe electric ymo`` tor M,i Fig.- 2, mounted finthe base 15 andoperatively connected to Vthe 'shaft 23 Aby an extension' of the' motorshaft 24-withits other end connectedtothe shaft-23 by the connectionshownindetail in FigsfiL and 5. As here shown,thefadjace'nt'end'of theshaft 23' is recessed as vindicated 'at' 25 to slidably receive theconfrontingfend of the shaft'24, the latter being slotted asindicatedat26 to accommodate a pin 27frelati`vely-small as comparedv to 'the slotto allow of the limited longitudinal movement of ,theshaft' 24 withrespect to the shaft 23. This connection obviously rallows yforthenecessary r end thrust ofthe motor shaft 24 ywhile still maintainingan operative vconnection between the shafts s?) andi 24 lto drive thedriving gear Gr.

iis-shown` in Fig: 2, each shaft 23a is extendedv at `its forward endbeyond 'the plate 20 and boredlongitudinallyto accommodate a brushsupporting'shaft 28, a chuck desig-f nated lgenerallyat CAbeingvassociated with the-shafts23SLV and 28 -to -detachably secure theshaft Vv28 to the shaft 29H Each of the chucks C is of conventional formso that-a detail description of the same 'isY thought tov beunnecessary. As shownin Figsil and 2, each'v shaft 28 supports brushes Bof such a size as to be readily insertable in t'oV milk bot tlesand of'such' a yconto-uras to effectively cleanv theinterior of themillbottles' when the latter are yapplied in:` the -manner shown inFig.t2.

For 'thepurpose of effectivelylubricating all -of the gears; the-*plates'16 and. 2() arey constructed to' 'accommodate caps :29 whichco-operatewitlrthe plates in 'formingtcompartments that communicate withthe spaces between the sleeve bearings by means of ducts 30. Within thelowermost space or that space between the bases 15 and 19 and thebearings lea and 22, aV fiuid lubricant is adapted to be placed so thatunder the action of the rotating gears G', G2 and G3 this lubricant willbe carried upwardly by the teeth of the gears for lubricating such gearsand the gear G as well as the shaftsf23 and 23". The lubricant whichfinds its way to the end portions of the shafts 23 and 23a is depositedYinto the caps 29 and from there gravitates through the ducts 30 andultimately into the lowermostl space for a redistribution, as will beunderstood.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the castings K and K as well as the motor Mare adapted to be housed by a hood H which engages an arcuate fia-nge Fformed at the upper endY of the plate 20l and designed to preventsplashing of the water or other cleaning fluid rearwardly with respectto the casting K.

From the foregoing description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings itjis to be believed that the operation of themachine will be readily apparent, and that I have provided a machine ofextremely simple, durable and efficient construction which operates toeffectively clean one or more bottles simultaneously.

Although I haveV herein shown and described only one form of bottlewashing machine embodying my invention, it is to be understood thatvarious changes and modifications may be made herein without departingfrom the spirit of the invention and the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A bottle washing machine comprising a pair of castings having theirconfronting sides formed with bearings arranged in pairs with thebearings of one pair disposed in confronting relation to each other andspaced apart from the bearings of the other pairs, a shaft journaled ineach pair of bearings, gears fiXed to said shafts, said gears includinga driving gear and driven gears, the latter meshing with each other andthe former meshing with one of the driven gears, brush supporting shaftsdetachably associated with the shafts of the driven gears, means fordriving the shaft of the driving gear, a loose and operative connectionbetween the motor shaft and the driving shaft to allow the necessary endthrust of the motor shaft, said connection including a recess in adriving shaft, adapted to receive the adjacent end of the 'motor shaft,a slot in the motor shaft, and a pin secured to the driving shaft andextending through ,the slot of the motor shaft, caps associated with thecastings to provide lubricating compartments at or adjacent the ends ofthe shafts,

and duets formed in the castings for effecting communication between theinterior of the caps and the spaces between the adjacent pairs ofbearings. i

2. A bottle washing machine comprising a pair of castings having theirconfronting sides formed with bearings arranged in pairs with thebearings of one pair disposed in confronting relation to each other andspaced apart from the bearings ofthe other pairs, a shaft journaledineach pair of bearings, gears fiXed to said shafts, said gearsincluding a driving gear and driven gears, the latter meshing with eachother and the former meshing with one of the driven gears, brushsupporting shafts Vdetachably associated with the shafts of the drivengears, means for driving the shaft of the driving gear, caps associatedwith the castings toprovide lubricating compartments at 0r adjacent theends of the shaft-s, and ducts 4formed in the castings for effectingcommunication between the interior of the caps and the spaces betweenthe adjacent pairs of bearings. Y

3. A bottle washing machine comprising a pair of castings including baseportions, upstanding plate portions, anges formed in the plate portionsand secured to each other, sleeve bearings formed on the plates atcorresponding points, an arcuate flange formed on one of the plates, ahood housing the castings and engaging said fiange, shafts journaled insaid bearings, gears fixed to ksaid shafts, with one of said gearsconstituting a driving gear and the remaining gears forming drivengears, the driven gears meshing with each other and the driving gearmeshing with one of the driven gears, brush supporting shafts detachablysecured to the shafts for the driven gears, a motorsustained on the baseof one of the castings and within said. hood, and means for operativelyconnecting the motor shaft to the shaft for the driven gear and in suchmanner as to allow of the limited end thrust of the motor shaft. 1

4. A bottle washing machine con'iprising a casing having bearings,shafts journaled in said bearings, gears fixed to the shafts, brushsupporting shafts carried by the first shafts, means for driving thefirst shafts, caps associated with the casing to provide lubricatingcompartments at or adjacent the ends of the first shafts, vsaid casingbeing formed with a duct for effecting communication between theinteriorof the caps and the spaces between'the adjacent pairs ofbearings.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FRANK C. WOLF.

